Americans United - Faith & Freedom Coalitionhttps://au.org/tags/faith-freedom-coalition
enReligious Right Attorney Jay Sekulow Joins Trump Legal Teamhttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/religious-right-attorney-jay-sekulow-joins-trump-legal-team
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>You might have noticed that President Donald J. Trump is in a bit of legal trouble.</p>
<p>Trump is lining up a legal defense team. His point man is Marc Kasowitz, a brash attorney who has defended Trump in several lawsuits, including one concerning fraud allegations at Trump University.</p>
<p>But Kasowitz has no experience in constitutional law, so Trump <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trumps-legal-team-features-some-unexpected-members">is augmenting</a> his legal team. Among his legal eagles is a name longtime readers of this blog may find familiar: Jay Sekulow.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/files/Sekulow.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 533px;" /></p>
<p><em>Religious Right attorney Jay Sekulow has joined President Donald Trump's legal defense team. </em></p>
<p>In the early 1990s, Sekulow was tapped by TV preacher Pat Robertson to run a legal group called the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), the primary aim of which was to chip away at the church-state wall. For a number of years, it was the nation’s largest Religious Right legal outfit, although these days it has been eclipsed by Alliance Defending Freedom.</p>
<p>But Sekulow is still plugging along. The ACLJ’s budget is nearly $20 million, and a separate group Sekulow runs, Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism, has a staggering $53 million in revenue, although it’s unclear what exactly the group does.</p>
<p>Back in 2005, <em>Legal Times</em> reporter Tony Mauro <a href="http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/jay-sekulows-gospel-of-greed">penned an excellent exposé</a> examining how Sekulow has used these non-profits to enrich himself and members of his family. Mauro quoted some anonymous Sekulow critics from the evangelical right, but that apparently didn’t stop the flow of money.</p>
<p>Sekulow has always claimed to be an advocate of religious liberty, but in 2010 he worked actively against that principle after an Islamic group in New York City announced plans to build an Islamic center in lower Manhattan. Buying property and opening a house of worship would seem to be a fundamental expression of religious liberty, but Sekulow and his gang felt differently. Fanning the flames of Islamophobia, they dubbed the facility the “Ground Zero Mosque” – even though it was two blocks from the 9/11 site and wasn’t a mosque.</p>
<p>Grasping at any legal straws, <a href="http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/frivolous-filing-tv-preacher%E2%80%99s-legal-group-sues-to-block-islamic-center-in">the ACLJ filed suit</a>, claiming that a building that would have to be razed to house the center was historic. The structure did date to the 1850s, but it was hardly iconic – it had been damaged during the terrorist attack, and prior to that, had been home to a Burlington Coat Factory.</p>
<p>A New York court dismissed Sekulow’s lawsuit, but plans for the Islamic center fell through after its backers were unable to raise enough money. Current plans are to convert the building into luxury condominiums, although there’s still talk about an Islamic museum being included.</p>
<p>Despite his odd definition of religious freedom, even Sekulow’s critics agree that he can be an effective attorney. He has won a few cases at the Supreme Court. But, like Kasowitz, Sekulow is no expert in the constitutional issues that Trump is facing.</p>
<p>So why, then, has he been appointed to the Trump legal effort? Sekulow does bring certain skills to the table. He’s polished and effective in the media, and Trump has already dispatched him to do some Sunday morning talk shows.</p>
<p>More importantly, Sekulow’s elevation gives Trump another opportunity to show solidarity with what is perhaps Trump’s last remaining constituency: the Religious Right.</p>
<p>Trump currently enjoys a <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/336751-poll-trump-job-approval-rating-falls-to-34-percent">34 percent approval rating</a>, an all-time low for a new president. The White House is widely regarded as being in disarray. Longtime allies overseas are turning away from us. Trump hasn’t been able to pass any significant legislation.</p>
<p>By any honest metric, things are doing downhill fast. But in the Bizarro World of the Religious Right, everything is peachy keen. The day James Comey, former director of the FBI, testified before a Senate committee and called Trump a liar, the American Family Association issued an email asserting that Comey’s testimony had vindicated Trump.</p>
<p>It’s worth noting that as Comey was delivering his damaging testimony, Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/06/08/remarks-president-trump-faith-and-freedom-coalitions-road-majority">was addressing</a> Ralph Reed’s Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition, basking once again in the adoration of the Religious Right – one of the few groups still willing to give him that.</p>
<p>Trump rode into office on a wave of Religious Right support. His decision to add Sekulow to his legal team is an indication that he intends to rely on members of that theocratic movement to keep him there.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/jay-sekulow">Jay Sekulow</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/pat-robertson">Pat Robertson</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/american-center-for-law-and-justice">American Center for Law and Justice</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ground-zero-mosque">Ground Zero mosque</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ralph-reed">ralph reed</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/faith-freedom-coalition">Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/marc-kasowitz">Marc Kasowitz</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tony-mauro">Tony Mauro</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/christian-advocates-serving-evangelism">Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/james-comey">James Comey</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/fbi">FBI</a></span></div></div>Tue, 13 Jun 2017 14:14:19 +0000Rob Boston13013 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/religious-right-attorney-jay-sekulow-joins-trump-legal-team#commentsTell Congress: Protect The Johnson Amendmenthttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/tell-congress-protect-the-johnson-amendment
<a href="/about/people/liz-hayes">Liz Hayes</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>For more than 60 years, a provision in the tax code known as the Johnson Amendment has protected the integrity of our tax-exempt organizations, including houses of worship, by ensuring they do not endorse or oppose political candidates.</p>
<p>Americans United has been fighting for decades through our <a href="http://projectfairplay.squarespace.com/">Project Fair Play</a> to protect the Johnson Amendment because taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize the partisan election activities of churches and non-profits. In addition, the Johnson Amendment protects non-profit organizations. Endorsing candidates would put these organizations at risk of being turned into the tools of political campaigns. The small group of politicians and their supporters seeking to weaken the Johnson Amendment are actually interested in boosting their own political power.</p>
<p>President Donald J. Trump has vowed to “get rid of and totally destroy” the Johnson Amendment. Just yesterday at the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition’s annual “Road to Majority” conference, Trump <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?429597-1/president-trump-addresses-faith-freedom-coalition-conference&amp;vod">again voiced his intention</a> to do away with the law. Trump referenced his May 4 <a href="http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/trumps-executive-order-continues-the-assault-on-religious-freedom">executive order</a> that set the stage for future attacks on religious freedom, including limiting enforcement of the Johnson Amendment.</p>
<p>“That was a big deal and it was a very important thing for me to do for you,” Trump told the gathering yesterday. “And we’re not finished, believe me. We’re not finished yet.”</p>
<p>A few members of Congress have introduced legislation to weaken or repeal the Johnson Amendment. These attacks on the current law keep coming even though it has <a href="http://projectfairplay.squarespace.com/polls">broad public support</a>, including among Republicans and white evangelical Christians.</p>
<p>That’s why it’s vital for you to tell Congress now that you don’t want the law to change. Please <a href="http://projectfairplay.squarespace.com/petition">sign our petition</a>, which notes changing the Johnson Amendment “is an extremely unpopular and unwise idea. Americans do not want our charities and houses of worship to be torn apart by partisan campaign politics. In addition, taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize the partisan election activities of these organizations.”</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/files/Church%20pulpit.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 533px;" /></p>
<p><em>Endorsing candidates from the pulpit would put houses of worship at risk of being turned into the tools of political campaigns.</em></p>
<p>Also, faith leaders can <a href="https://www.faith-voices.org/">sign a letter</a> to let Congress know they want the Johnson Amendment to be protected. The letter explains that current law allows houses of worship and charities to focus on fulfilling their missions without being pressured to get involved in partisan campaigns by politicians and others seeking political power. Contrary to Trump’s false rhetoric, the leaders of churches and non-profits under the current law already have robust free speech rights to voice their thoughts on political and social issues.</p>
<p>We’ll be rolling out more ways that you can show your support for the Johnson Amendment in the coming weeks. AU will be joining allied organizations at 4 p.m. on June 27 to host a nationwide grassroots conference call to provide information about the law, updates on the attacks against it and suggestions for grassroots actions that people can take during the upcoming summer recess when members of Congress will be available in their home districts. Anyone can participate in this free, informational session by calling 1-877-275-6071 and using the code 9019771.</p>
<p>We need to let our representatives know that changing the current law will only further polarize congregations, charities and communities. For more information about the Johnson Amendment and what you can do to protect it, visit AU’s <a href="http://projectfairplay.squarespace.com/">Project Fair Play</a>.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-groups-involvement-in-candidate-elections">Religious Groups’ Involvement in Candidate Elections</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/johnson-amendment">Johnson Amendment</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/project-fair-play">Project Fair Play</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/faith-voices">Faith Voices</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/elections">Elections</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/pulpit-politicking">Pulpit Politicking</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/donald-j-trump">Donald J. Trump</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/faith-freedom-coalition">Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/road-to-majority">Road to Majority</a></span></div></div>Fri, 09 Jun 2017 13:54:42 +0000Liz Hayes13009 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/tell-congress-protect-the-johnson-amendment#commentsWill Donald Trump Give Some Late Gifts To The Religious Right?https://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/will-donald-trump-give-some-late-gifts-to-the-religious-right
<a href="/about/people/liz-hayes">Liz Hayes</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>It hasn’t been a secret what members of the Religious Right sought under their Christmas trees this year, and voters playing the role of Santa Claus delivered: Donald Trump for president.</p>
<p>Even though his own advisors have indicated you can’t take what Trump <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/12/politics/kellyanne-conway-hillary-clinton-donald-trump-2016-election/">says</a> <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/trump-symbolically-anthony-scaramucci-232848">literally</a>, his voiced support for issues dear to the hearts of far-right evangelicals was enough for them to overlook the reality television star’s three marriages, <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/30/donald-trump-in-1990-adultery-is-not-a-sin.html">permissive attitude on adultery</a> and boasts about <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/2016/10/07/3b9ce776-8cb4-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html?utm_term=.e6b68761d559">sexually assaulting women</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/11/08/us/politics/election-exit-polls.html?_r=1">Exit polling</a> showed 81 percent of white, evangelical Christian voters cast their ballots for Trump.</p>
<p>Family Research Council President Tony Perkins <a href="http://www.frc.org/newsroom/survey-finds-60-percent-of-trump-voters-were-impacted-by-pro-life-pro-religious-liberty-gop-platform">noted</a> the “bridge between Donald Trump and Christian conservatives” was the candidate’s pledge to appoint conservative judges on the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal benches. (As <em>The Washington Post</em> reports this morning, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-to-inherit-more-than-100-court-vacancies-plans-to-reshape-judiciary/2016/12/25/d190dd18-c928-11e6-85b5-76616a33048d_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_trumpjudges805p%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&amp;utm_term=.3b0f2f53ff15">there are more than 100 vacancies</a> on the federal bench, meaning Trump is well poised to deliver on this promise.)</p>
<p>Perkins said other decisive issues included Trump’s backing of efforts to allow businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ citizens and his vow to repeal the Johnson Amendment, a provision in federal law that prohibits non-profits, including houses of worship, from endorsing or opposing political candidates.</p>
<p>Perkins <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/13/us/politics/republican-convention-issues.html?_r=0">was involved</a> in developing the Republican Party’s 2016 platform, which espoused conservative social priorities. It echoed Trump in supporting another issue of concern to Americans United: the expansion of private school voucher plans that would direct tax dollars to religious schools.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><img alt="" src="/files/ReligiousRightPromises_Countdown25_r1_3.png" style="width: 800px; height: 800px;" /></p>
<p><em>We're ready to fight the Religious Right.</em></p>
<p>Trump also had an “evangelical advisory board” full of far-right voices willing to overlook the candidate’s less-than-righteous past in exchange for a potential ally in the White House.</p>
<p>Some of those <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/trump-evangelical-advisory-board-224612">advisors</a> included:</p>
<p><strong>James Dobson</strong>, founder of the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family and Family Talk, who <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2016/october/james-dobson-why-i-am-voting-for-donald-trump.html">referenced the election</a> as a “single-issue” race revolving around the appointment of at least one Supreme Court justice. He called Trump’s list of proposed conservative justices “stellar” and also was encouraged by Trump’s running mate selection of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who has deep ties to the Religious Right.</p>
<p><strong>Jerry Falwell Jr</strong>., president of the fundamentalist Liberty University, was one of Trump’s early Religious Right endorsers. “In my opinion, Donald Trump lives a life of loving and helping others as Jesus taught in the great commandment,” <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/26/evangelical-leader-jerry-falwell-jr-endorses-trump/?utm_term=.d810115a833e">Falwell said</a> as he introduced Trump at the Virginia university in January 2015. After the election, Falwell said he was <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/df9a14336c64485cabb5fdc81ded5981/falwell-says-trump-offered-him-education-secretary-job">offered but declined</a> the role of secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.</p>
<p><strong>Ralph Reed</strong>, founder and chairman of the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/10/08/still-the-best-candidate-some-evangelicals-still-back-trump-despite-lewd-video/?utm_term=.0ea1e36ca518">told <em>The Washington Post</em></a> that “people of faith are voting on issues like who will protect unborn life, defend religious freedom, grow the economy, appoint conservative judges and oppose the Iran nuclear deal.” He added that the taped conversation featuring Trump’s comments about groping women ranked “pretty low on [evangelical voters’] hierarchy of their concerns.”</p>
<p>Apparently, those same voters’ concerns have changed since 1998, when Reed, then running the Christian Coalition, referenced then-President Bill Clinton to <em>The New York Times</em>: “We care about the conduct of our leaders, and we will not rest until we have leaders of good moral character.”</p>
<p>It remains to be seen whether Trump will try to fulfill his promises, or if this is a gift Christian conservatives will wish they could exchange. I suspect the former. Trump doesn’t have to sincerely believe in the Religious Right’s agenda to attempt to deliver on it, and since he wants the Religious Right’s ongoing support, why wouldn’t he try to keep its leaders and members happy? Trump is already doing that. Just look at his cabinet appointees.</p>
<p>One thing’s for sure: Americans United will have its hands full next year. We’re going to need your help, so if you’re not a card-carrying member, <a href="https://support.au.org/donate">now is the time to sign up</a>.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-groups-involvement-in-candidate-elections">Religious Groups’ Involvement in Candidate Elections</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/judicial-nominations">Judicial Nominations</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ralph-reed">ralph reed</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/james-dobson">James Dobson</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/jerry-falwell-jr-0">Jerry Falwell Jr.</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/supreme-court">Supreme Court</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/liberty-university">Liberty University</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tony-perkins">Tony Perkins</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/focus-family">Focus On The Family</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/family-research-council">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/family-talk-james-dobson">Family Talk with James Dobson</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/faith-freedom-coalition">Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition</a></span></div></div>Mon, 26 Dec 2016 14:37:16 +0000Rob Boston12549 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/will-donald-trump-give-some-late-gifts-to-the-religious-right#commentsIn An October Non-Surprise, Religious Right Leaders Are Sticking With Trumphttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/in-an-october-non-surprise-religious-right-leaders-are-sticking-with-trump
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>A tape has surfaced of Donald Trump <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/2016/10/07/3b9ce776-8cb4-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_trumptape-404pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory">saying things about women</a> that are so lewd and crude that I can’t repeat them on this blog.</p>
<p>Trump’s 2005 comments were caught on a hot microphone as he talked with Billy Bush, then host of a TV show called “Access Hollywood.” The two were on their way to the set of a soap opera where Trump was filming a cameo.</p>
<p>On the tape, Trump is heard boasting about his attempts to seduce a married woman. “I moved on her, and I failed. I’ll admit it,” Trump says. “I did try and [expletive deleted] her. She was married.”</p>
<p>Trump goes on: “And I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, ‘I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture.’ I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married.”</p>
<p>At the time this was recorded, Trump had just recently married his third wife, Melania.</p>
<p>At another point in the tape, Trump brags that being well known allows him to approach women in a sexually aggressive manner. </p>
<p>“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful – I just start kissing them,” Trump is heard saying. “It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”</p>
<p>Another voice, apparently Bush’s, says, “Whatever you want.”</p>
<p>To this Trump replies, “Grab them by the [expletive deleted]. You can do anything.”</p>
<p>Enough time has passed since this recording was released for Religious Right leaders to respond with condemnations – as they surely would have done if a prominent Democrat had said these things.</p>
<p>So what are they saying?</p>
<p>Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/prominent-evangelicals-still-backing-trump-after-graphic-vid?utm_term=.turP1DRZM#.hgjVy3Mbq">told BuzzFeed</a>, “My personal support for Donald Trump has never been based upon shared values, it is based upon shared concerns about issues such as: justices on the Supreme Court that ignore the constitution, America’s continued vulnerability to Islamic terrorists and the systematic attack on religious liberty that we’ve seen in the last 7 1/2 years.”</p>
<p>Translation: Perkins is going to support Trump no matter how sleazy he is because of that open seat on the Supreme Court. Then, after throwing his support behind a serial adulterer who flirts with rape, he’s going to continue to lecture the rest of us about how important it is to be a “values voter.”</p>
<p>I checked Perkins’ <a href="https://twitter.com/tperkins?ref_src=twsrc%5egoogle|twcamp%5eserp|twgr%5eauthor">Twitter feed</a> this morning. It features several unflattering photos of President Barack Obama but not one word about Trump.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/files/trump%20politico.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /></p>
<p><em>You'd think a headline like this would disturb the Religious Right. You'd be wrong. </em></p>
<p>Betsy Woodruff of the Daily Beast has a <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/07/evangelical-leaders-shrug-at-donald-trump-s-lewd-comments.html?via=desktop&amp;source=twitter">good roundup</a> of Religious Right reactions. Let’s look at a few.</p>
<p>Ralph Reed of the Faith &amp; Family Coalition: “People of faith are voting on issues like who will protect unborn life, defund Planned Parenthood, defend religious liberty and oppose the Iran nuclear deal. A ten-year-old tape of a private conversation with a talk show host ranks low on their hierarchy of concerns.”</p>
<p>Robert Jeffress, a Texas Baptist pastor and member of Trump’s Evangelical Executive Advisory Board: “I said at that time, with Trump sitting next to me, I would not necessarily choose this man to be my child’s Sunday School teacher. But that’s not what this election is about.”</p>
<p>Bob Vander Plaats, president of the Family Leader, an influential Religious Right group in Iowa, said he still plans to vote for Trump but will not endorse him.</p>
<p>I scoured the web this morning trying to find a reaction from Jerry Falwell Jr., an early Trump supporter who has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jerry-falwell-jr-trump-is-the-churchillian-leader-we-need/2016/08/19/b1ff79e0-64b1-11e6-be4e-23fc4d4d12b4_story.html?utm_term=.635c400278db">compared the real estate mogul to Winston Churchill.</a> So far, I’m coming up empty.</p>
<p>I’ve spent nearly 30 years monitoring Religious Right groups, often attending their meetings. One of the things that irks me the most about these organizations is their tendency to judge everyone at the drop of a hat.</p>
<p>To them, LGBTQ people are hell bound sinners, feminists are out to kill babies, non-believers are a threat to common decency and anyone with a progressive view of politics is a traitor to the country.</p>
<p>Religious Right groups are quick to say that anyone can receive forgiveness, but the only ones who ever qualify in their world are their fellow travelers in the far right. A liberal who makes a moral misstep is never forgiven. Yet someone like Trump is awarded a pass immediately. He doesn’t even have to ask.</p>
<p>I don’t know which candidate will win next month, but I do know that campaign 2016 has already produced one big loser: Religious Right groups. They sold what precious little integrity that had left for the walking mess of pottage that is Donald Trump. They all deserve one another.</p>
<p>I really don’t mind that the Religious Right has chosen to cast its lot with a crude, ill-informed man who speaks about women in this way. I just wish they’d quit pretending that their actions are noble or there’s any sense of decency in what they are doing.</p>
<p>They tossed that – and the values they claim to cherish – on a trash heap a long time ago.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/billy-bush">Billy Bush</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/tony-perkins">Tony Perkins</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/bob-vander-plaats">Bob Vander Plaats</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/jerry-falwell-jr-0">Jerry Falwell Jr.</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ralph-reed">ralph reed</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/robert-jeffress">Robert Jeffress</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/faith-freedom-coalition">Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/family-research-council">Family Research Council</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/access-hollywood">Access Hollywood</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/betsy-woodruff">Betsy Woodruff</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/daily-beast">Daily Beast</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/family-leader">FAMiLY Leader</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/winston-churchill">Winston Churchill</a></span></div></div>Sat, 08 Oct 2016 14:44:10 +0000Rob Boston12408 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/in-an-october-non-surprise-religious-right-leaders-are-sticking-with-trump#commentsReligious Right Grills GOP Presidential Candidates During Iowa Forumhttps://au.org/church-state/june-2015-church-state/people-events/religious-right-grills-gop-presidential-candidates
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>A group of Republican presidential hopefuls recently gathered in Iowa, each hoping to woo and win Religious Right activists ahead of the 2016 election.</p><p>At an event hosted by Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition in April, nine potential and declared candidates, including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), tried to win the support of far-right social conservatives. </p><p>The Dallas <em>Morning News</em> reported that more than 1,000 people attended the event, which was held in a church and lasted more than five hours. The newspaper described the candidates’ speeches as “fiery testimonial,” with Cruz and Huckabee drawing standing ovations before their remarks even got under way.</p><p>Huckabee claimed some in the United States wish to “criminalize Christianity,” insisting that “the single greatest threat to all of our freedoms is the threat to your religious freedom.”</p><p>Cruz walked a similar path when he accused liberals of demonizing Christianity, particularly in public spaces.</p><p>“The greatest trick the left has ever played is to convince conservatives that America doesn’t share our values,” he said.</p><p>Some evangelicals who attended the event expressed concern that there are too many options – even with the 2016 presidential election more than one year away.</p><p>“I’ve heard it from a lot of people in the grassroots that we don’t want to split our votes and let the establishment guy take it,” said Steve Deace, an Iowa radio host and conservative leader. (Deace was referring to the 2008 GOP presidential nomination of U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona and the 2012 selection of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, both of whom won only grudging support from the Religious Right.)</p><p>The GOP 2016 field is expected to be crowded, and several candidates are making a play for the Religious Right vote. Huckabee and Cruz have wide appeal in that community, as does Ben Carson, a former surgeon known for his opposition to LGBT rights. Paul and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) are also courting the Religious Right. Two other politicians with high appeal to these voters, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.) and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, are also believed to be contemplating making a run for the White House. </p><p>Analysts, such as <em>Politico</em>’s James Hohmann, said Religious Right voters may have trouble throwing all of their support behind any single candidate during the primaries.</p><p>Hohmann opined that a “splintered religious right could allow a relative moderate like Jeb Bush or Chris Christie…to win the caucuses with a plurality, a fear expressed quietly by leaders of the movement.”</p><p>Bush, the former governor of Florida, and Christie, current governor of New Jersey, both skipped the Iowa event.</p></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">People &amp; Events</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-11140" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
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The <span class="cs-month field">June</span> <span class="cs-year field"><span class="date-display-single">2015</span></span> issue of <em>Church &amp; State</em>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/june-2015-church-state/editorial/a-discordant-note-even-high-school-musicals-must">A Discordant Note: Even High School Musicals Must Accord With Constitution</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/june-2015-church-state/au-bulletin/okla-legislature-sends-marriage-bills-to-governor">Okla. Legislature Sends Marriage Bills To Governor</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/june-2015-church-state/people-events/au-s-lynn-moderates-dc-hill-briefing-on-religious">AU’s Lynn Moderates D.C. Hill Briefing On Religious Discrimination</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/june-2015-church-state/people-events/baptist-minister-slams-religious-right-for">Baptist Minister Slams Religious Right For Distorting Religious Liberty</a></span> </div></li>
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<div class="views-field views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/church-state/june-2015-church-state/people-events/religious-right-grills-gop-presidential-candidates">Religious Right Grills GOP Presidential Candidates During Iowa Forum</a></span> </div></li>
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</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/faith-freedom-coalition">Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/iowa">Iowa</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/mike-huckabee">Mike Huckabee</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/sen-rand-paul">Sen. Rand Paul</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/gov-rick-perry">Gov. Rick Perry</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/sen-ted-cruz">Sen. Ted Cruz</a></span></div></div>Mon, 01 Jun 2015 03:45:00 +0000Timothy Ritz11164 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/church-state/june-2015-church-state/people-events/religious-right-grills-gop-presidential-candidates#commentsNew Congress, New Challengeshttps://au.org/church-state/january-2015-church-state/featured/new-congress-new-challenges
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Jim Inhofe, a Republican U.S. sen­ator from Oklahoma, believes the making of public policy should be left to a higher power.</p><p>“[G]od’s still up there,” Inhofe, a Religious Right ally, opined in 2012. “The arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what He is doing in the climate is to me outrageous.” </p><p>Whether or not you agree with Inhofe on climate change is a secondary matter: The fact is, he wants to craft legislation based purely on dogma favored by a handful of people instead of policies that would help the entire country. Inhofe, a former insurance executive, has ascended to the head of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee – granting him a powerful platform from which to spread his ideas.</p><p>Inhofe received his promotion partly due to the Religious Right, which mobilized millions of voters who hate President Barack Obama ahead of the November elections. Thanks in part to the fact that 78 percent of white, evangelical Protestants who participated in an election last year voted for Republicans, both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are under conservative control for the first time since 2006. As a result, defenders of separation of church and state can expect a steady flow of congressional measures that could harm religious liberty.</p><p>The issues in play will include school voucher expansions, “religious freedom” exemptions to secular laws, the role of religion in the military and attempts to provide direct federal funding for houses of worship. </p><p>Since many far-right candidates rode into office on a wave of fundamentalist support, they will likely do the bidding of the GOP base/Tea Party constituents who sent them to Washington. Here are the bad bills you can expect to see this year:</p><p> </p><p><strong>A Variety Of Voucher Schemes </strong></p><p>Although one of the loudest voucher proponents in Congress, former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), was booted from office during the primary elections, plenty of lawmakers are lining up to take his place.</p><p>In a November op-ed for the <em>Wall Street Journal</em>, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pledged to push for “school choice” expansion.</p><p>Boehner and McConnell, perhaps aware of the unpopularity of the term “voucher” among voters, crouched their agenda with language referring to charter schools.</p><p>Others were not so reticent. In a recent manifesto of sorts, Tea Party darling Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) made similar remarks: “We should also do all we can to expand educational choices for parents and children….”</p><p>Unfortunately, voucher-loving legislators will likely have plenty of choices in 2015 when it comes to schemes to divert taxpayer money into the coffers of sectarian schools, as multiple failed bills from previous sessions seem likely to resurface.</p><p>In 2014, two federal voucher bills were introduced: the Scholarship for Kids Act and the CHOICE Act. The Scholarship for Kids Act (H.R. 4000/S. 1968) would use federal Title I money, which is intended to fund programs at schools with high concentrations of low-income students and a variety of funds from other federal education programs and convert them into a gigantic private school voucher plans.</p><p>The CHOICE Act (H.R. 4773/S. 1909) is also proble­matic. It would do three things: expand the ineffective Washington, D.C. voucher program, redistribute federal tax dollars reserved for students with dis­a­bilities into a private school vouch­er program and create a private school voucher program for students living on military bases.</p><p>Americans United’s legislative team reported that the main lawmakers driving these dangerous bills will likely be Rep. Luke Messer (R-Ind.), who spon­sored the Scholarship for Kids Act and co-sponsored the CHOICE Act, and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who also sponsored the Scholarship for Kids Act and co-sponsored the CHOICE Act, as well as Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). Messer, Alexander and Scott will have increased power this year since Messer was elected head of the House Republican Policy Committee, while Alexander is the new chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.</p><p>Additionally, vouchers could crop up in a new stand-alone bill or tucked into the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which would allow for what policy wonks call “public school portability.” The plan would allow for Title I funds to be allocated on a per-student basis, and many critics believe it is a step toward a voucher plan.</p><p>The “portability” concept was introduced as an amendment to ESEA in 2013 by Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Scott, and has been proposed as an amendment to other forms of legislation as well. Cantor was a proponent of portability, which he called an “imitation voucher,” but even without his influence it is clear this ploy has many advocates left to fight for it.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Direct Tax Aid For Religious Organizations</strong></p><p>Although Hurricane Sandy ravaged the northeast more than two years ago, the Religious Right is still using it as an excuse to provide direct federal money to houses of worship. The new Congress may be receptive to the idea.</p><p>Houses of worship are currently eligible to receive low-interest loans to repair storm damage, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is prohibited from distributing direct grants to churches, temples and so on – although certain religious organizations can qualify for this aid as they seek to repair property damaged in natural disasters.</p><p>In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, however, several bills were proposed that would have changed that. The primary measure was H.R. 592/S. 1274, which easily passed the House in February 2013. It was then sent to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for consideration but did not advance.</p><p>Then-committee chair Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) opposed the bill, saying it was unconstitutional. But now that the GOP holds control of the Senate, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) may have the opportunity to reconsider the FEMA bill. Johnson, who once served on the finance council of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay, may feel differently about the constitutionality of the measure.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Religion In The Military</strong></p><p>The issue of religious freedom in the U.S. military is one that comes up annually in Con­gress, thanks primarily to the National Defense Reauthorization Act (NDAA). This massive, omnibus bill sets the U.S. defense budget and must be renewed each year. Thus, it often becomes a magnet for dangerous proposals in the form of riders and amendments.</p><p>In 2014, NDAA (H.R. 4425/S. 2289) passed the House with problematic amendments that would have allowed chaplains to deliver sectarian prayers at mandatory events and to give the government land upon which the Mt. Soledad Cross near San Diego sits. (The “memorial” is a 43-foot tall Latin cross that was dedicated on Easter Sunday in 1954 as a “gleaming white symbol of Christianity.” Its defenders have since claimed it is a war memorial and it has been the subject of litigation for over 20 years.)</p><p>It is clear that issues of religious expression in the armed forces are of ongoing interest to Congress – after all, there were two House hearings on the matter in 2014 alone. More hearings and problematic bills can be expected in 2015, which is why Americans United took a preemptive step to debunk dozens of overstated Christian “persecution” claims by the Family Research Council in its 2014 report “A Clear and Present Danger.” The report purports to document dozens of incidents in which Christian service members were denied freedom of expression. (See “Clear and Present Falsehoods,” p. 9.)</p><p> </p><p><strong>Demands For ‘Religious Freedom’ Exemptions</strong></p><p>In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s harmful decision in <em>Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores</em>, which said that secular, for-profit corporations have the right to make intensely personal medical decisions for their employees under the guise of “religious freedom,” Americans United’s legislative team expects to see numerous types of congressional action that would permit religious refusals from health care and anti-discrimination laws.</p><p>Some of these bills were introduced in 2014, including the EACH Act (H.R. 1814/S. 862), which would have allowed people to exempt themselves from the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act if they have a religious objection to health care. It passed the House but not the Senate.</p><p>The new Congress may also move to protect the “right” of individuals to discriminate against same-sex couples. In 2014, a bill was introduced called the Marriage and Religious Freedom Act (H.R. 3133/S. 1808), which would have given opponents of same-sex marriage broad new powers to refuse to serve or accommodate LGBT citizens. It didn’t move, but it may find a friendly reception this year.</p><p>The First Amendment already protects houses of worship from being forced to perform any wedding to which they object, but some Religious Right activists want to go way beyond that and extend these same protections to the owners of secular, for-profit businesses.</p><p>The measure didn’t pass either chamber, but it could be reconsidered in 2015. Another piece of legislation that did not pass either the House or Senate in 2014 but could be resurrected is the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act of 2014 (H.R. 5285/S. 2706), which would have prohibited the government from cutting off support to religious adoption agencies that accept tax aid but still refuse to place children with LGBT clients based on those agencies’ “sincerely held religious beliefs.” </p><p>It’s likely that bills like these and other religious refusals will only increase next year. Said Americans United Legislative Director Maggie Garrett: “The Religious Right is anxious to test the bounds of <em>Hobby Lobby</em>. Fundamentalists will be looking to determine just how much they can get away with when they act under the guise of ‘sincerely held religious beliefs.’”</p><p> </p><p><strong>Finally: Expected the Unexpected</strong></p><p> With so many Religious Right-friendly legislators in power, just about anything could happen. In previous years when far-right lawmakers have had power, they have pushed legislation or amendments promoting the teaching of creationism in public schools and even advocated constitutional amendments to promote official prayer in public schools.</p><p>A resolution was introduced in the House last year designed to protect the “symbols and traditions of Christmas.” It could resurface this year. There have also been proposals to encourage the display of the Ten Commandments and other religious symbols at the seat of government. Other bills would make it harder for people to even file church-state cases in federal courts or would strip the courts of their power to hear these challenges.</p><p>In addition, Obama’s judicial appointments to the federal courts are expected to face more grilling and much rockier paths to confirmation.</p><p>How did the country get to this point? The GOP took control of the Senate and built its largest House majority since 1928 – and this occurred just two years after the reelection of Obama.</p><p>Analysts agree that turnout was down sharply in 2014. In fact, it hit the lowest level since World War II. But one group did not stay home: far-right religious conservatives.</p><p>The Religious Right’s aggressive manipulation of churches also played a role. Groups like the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the American Family Association, the Family Research Council and others urged houses of worship to distribute biased “voter guides” in houses of worship prior to the election.</p><p>At a post-election press conference in Washington, Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition head Ralph Reed claimed that his group distributed 20 million voter guides in 117,000 churches. Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn examined some of these guides, which were available online, and determined that they were clearly designed to promote Republicans.</p><p>“I’m sure groups like the ADF and the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition feel good about their success in dragging churches into partisan politics, which may very well have affected the outcome of some races yesterday,” Lynn said in a media statement. “But it’s important to remember that their success is made possible in part by the IRS, which continues to sit on its hands instead of enforcing our nation’s laws.” </p><p>The IRS recently claimed that it has an enforcement mechanism in place for houses of worship that don’t follow the rules on politicking, but it remains unclear if, not when, the agency will once again enforce those rules.</p><p> “Houses of worship that knowingly break the law by intervening in partisan elections should be stripped of their tax-exempt status,” Lynn said.</p><p>Ultimately, observers say 2015 could be a cataclysmic year for church-state separation since the Religious Right’s entire agenda is in play in Congress.</p><p>AU will be working harder than ever to defend the church-state wall.</p><p>“With the far right in power, almost any issue related to supposed ‘religious freedom’ could come up,” Garrett said. “All it takes is one bogus ‘horror’ story on Fox News and the next day a hearing will be scheduled so that the Religious Right can lobby Congress for more special privileges.” </p></div></div><a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><h3 >Americans United Braces For Renewed Assaults On The Church-State&nbsp;Wall</h3><div class="field field-name-field-cs-department field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Featured</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-government-subsidies-religious-institutions-not-including-schools">Other Government Subsidies of Religious Institutions</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/vouchers">Vouchers</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/tuition-tax-credits-and-deductions">Tuition Tax Credits and Deductions</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-government-aid-religious-schools">Other Government Aid to Religious Schools</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice">Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice in the Workplace</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/outside-workplace-discrimination-exemptions-religious-practice-including-military-prisons">Institutional Discrimination, Exemptions &amp; Religious Practice (Including Immigration, Military, Prisons &amp; Healthcare)</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-refusals-and-rfra">Religious Refusals and RFRA</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-groups-involvement-in-candidate-elections">Religious Groups’ Involvement in Candidate Elections</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-groups-involvement-in-ballot-initiatives">Religious Groups’ Involvement in Ballot Initiatives</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cs-issue field-type-node-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Magazine Issue:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><article id="node-10769" class="node node-church-state-issue clearfix">
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The <span class="cs-month field">January</span> <span class="cs-year field"><span class="date-display-single">2015</span></span> issue of <em>Church &amp; State</em>
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</div></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/faith-freedom-coalition">Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/alliance-defending-freedom">Alliance Defending Freedom</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/american-family-association">American Family Association</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/family-research-council-frc">Family research Council (FRC)</a></span></div></div>Wed, 31 Dec 2014 20:00:00 +0000Timothy Ritz10771 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/church-state/january-2015-church-state/featured/new-congress-new-challenges#commentsWeak Reed: Religious Right Operative Fails To Deliver On Grandiose Election Promiseshttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/weak-reed-religious-right-operative-fails-to-deliver-on-grandiose-election
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Ralph Reed&#039;s evangelical army was missing in action in key battleground states. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Like a lot of you, I got way too many political calls in the lead-up to the election. In fact, I stopped answering the phone.</p><p>I made an exception just days before Nov. 6 when my caller I.D. announced that Ralph Reed was calling. Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition and now head of the Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition (FFC), is a longtime Religious Right hack, and I wanted to hear his spiel. I raced to the phone. (In case you’re wondering, <a href="http://www.au.org/church-state/julyaugust-2011-church-state/featured/ralph-reed-born-again">I have attended</a> FFC conferences in the past, and that’s why I’m on Reed’s call list.)</p><p>Unfortunately, all I heard when I picked up was a woman’s voice ask, “Is this Mr. Boston?” before the line went dead.</p><p>The next evening, Reed tried once more. And again I jumped up from the couch (sending an alarmed cat scurrying upstairs) and grabbed the phone before the second ring. This time, I didn’t even hear a voice, just a dial tone.</p><p>If this was an example of Reed’s much-vaunted voter outreach, it leaves something to be desired.</p><p>The fact is, Reed had a bad night Nov. 6. Months prior to the election, he bragged about his plans to distribute 25 million voter guides and reach out to more than 100,000 churches. An army of right-wing evangelicals, he said, would march into the nation’s voting booths and propel Mitt Romney to the White House.</p><p>Sorry, Ralph, but it appears your army went missing in action.</p><p>Conservative columnist Steve Deace says Religious Right evangelical turnout actually dropped in two key states – Virginia and Florida.</p><p>“The exit polls also said white evangelical turnout in Virginia was down 7% from 2008, and Romney did not improve evangelical turnout in Florida from four years ago while losing about 40,000 to libertarian Gary Johnson,” <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2012/11/07/republicans-lost-election-gop-future/1689255/">wrote Deace</a>.</p><p><em>Christianity Today</em> <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/november-web-only/in-defeats-evangelicals-more-politically-united-than-ever-b.html">reported</a> that evangelical support for the GOP ticket also dropped in Ohio, the mother of all battleground states. It was only a 3-point drop, but in a tight race that might have made a difference.</p><p>“In Ohio, Romney had a more difficult time convincing evangelicals to support him,” reported the magazine. “In 2008, McCain received 71 percent of evangelical votes in Ohio. Exit polls this year don’t show much change, with 68 percent of evangelicals voting for the Republican ticket.”</p><p>Just to be clear, Romney got a lot of support from white evangelicals on Tuesday. Something like 78 percent backed him. But Reed didn’t promise to merely help Romney maintain the status quo. He bragged about a dramatic influx of new voters and an aggressive get-out-the-vote strategy to boost Romney’s numbers.</p><p>Didn’t happen. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/07/politics/why-romney-lost/index.html?hpt=hp_t1_5">As CNN reported</a>, the Republicans’ ground game was, well, not on the ground and not much of a game. Ralph reportedly got $10 million from right-wing fat cats to turn out the vote for Romney. I wonder if they’ll ask for a refund?</p><p>Reed did enlist a few right-wing heavy hitters to make <a href="http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2012/11/05/only-on-the-brody-file-sarah-palins-last-second-audio-again.aspx">robocalls for him</a>. Among them were Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, former Sen. Rick Santorum and that towering Christian leader Donald Trump.</p><p>Reed even reportedly persuaded Focus on the Family founder James Dobson to do a robocall. Dobson must have a short memory because the last time he worked with Reed, he ended up being duped into backhandedly <a href="http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/million-dollar-baby-ralph-reed-recruited-dobson-into-high-stakes-casino">aiding casino interests</a> during the infamous Jack Abramoff scandal. (Reed was in that thing <a href="http://www.au.org/church-state/march-2006-church-state/featured/wheel-of-misfortune">up to his neck</a> but escaped serious scrutiny.)</p><p>But here’s the thing: In ReedWorld, you never have to say you’re sorry. The day after the election, Reed appeared at a press conference in Washington, D.C., to insist that he had done his job.</p><p>“We can’t do the Republican Party’s job for them,” <a href="http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/11/08/15025030-ralph-reed-feels-a-little-defensive?lite">a testy Reed said</a>. “We can’t do the candidates’ job for them.” He blamed the poor GOP showing on “candidate performance issues.”</p><p>What about the millions of phone calls Reed promised to make? What about his vow to implement the most technologically sophisticated voter ID and outreach effort the conservative world had ever seen? (Reed told <em>The New York Times</em> in September that his group <a href="http://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/murky-math-why-ralph-reed-s-latest-political-claims-don-t-add-up">would call</a> 17.1 million registered voters in 15 key states and that two million people would receive personal visits.) What about his scheme to flood the nation with slanted voter guides?</p><p>Reed insists he did all of that stuff. Two hang-up calls later have left me skeptical.</p><p>The sad thing is, I suspect Reed doesn’t really care if his outreach wasn’t all it was cranked up to be. After all, he still got paid. And for Ralph, that’s the bottom line in more ways than one.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/descriptions-and-activities-religious-right-groups">Descriptions and Activities of Religious Right Groups</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/ralph-reed">ralph reed</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/faith-freedom-coalition">Faith &amp; Freedom Coalition</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/mitt-romney">Mitt Romney</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/james-dobson">James Dobson</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/sarah-palin">sarah palin</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/christian-coalition">Christian Coalition</a></span></div></div>Fri, 09 Nov 2012 15:13:29 +0000Rob Boston7713 at https://au.orghttps://au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/weak-reed-religious-right-operative-fails-to-deliver-on-grandiose-election#comments